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come on guys, the guys without licenses make the real techs look good. How many times have you ever gotten a call and the unit is all hacked up. You go and tell the customer whats going on and then fix it. Iv'e deal with alot of customers that had something hacked by an unlicensed contractor and now they call us. Most of those customers are the ones that never question a bid or service charge anymore, they've learn't they get what they pay for.

What smells so bad here in my opinion is the fact that it says "does not entail material harm to the public at large". I wonder, how many times that house will be sold? How many people will enter it in the life of that install? If not that, Is the public at large all we care to protect? The truth is only a small percent of people that don't have a lic. and actually know what they are doing will be doing this work.

Why do I spend my time and money to obtain a lic., pay my fees to the state to maintain my lic., seek and attend continueing education classes at my expense when my state will allow anyone with a drill and screw to install a unit?

The Mechanical Association is working on this. That is evident. Most supply houses require you to have a lic. To bad the state will not inforce the very lic they are receiving revenues for. This makes no "cents".

Last edited by absoair; 10-17-2009 at 07:15 AM.
Reason: adding to and taking from

To bad the state will not inforce the very lic they are receiving revenues for. This makes no "cents".

Maybe that's what going on in my state.

They put out this licensing thing blah blah to bluff contractors into paying them, but since enforcement costs money it would cut into their revenue stream, so they don't do it.

If homeowners complain enough, maybe the state will be shamed into making some additional effort at enforcement, for a while.

I think now that I have been a sucker, so I have some decisions to make when my license runs out.

If licensing works, the amount of harm done to the public should be significantly less after licensing than before. Assuming all states care equally about the well-being of their residents, and some states don't have licensing req'mts, I have to wonder what is really going on here.

They put out this licensing thing blah blah to bluff contractors into paying them, but since enforcement costs money it would cut into their revenue stream, so they don't do it.

If homeowners complain enough, maybe the state will be shamed into making some additional effort at enforcement, for a while.

I think now that I have been a sucker, so I have some decisions to make when my license runs out.

If licensing works, the amount of harm done to the public should be significantly less after licensing than before. Assuming all states care equally about the well-being of their residents, and some states don't have licensing req'mts, I have to wonder what is really going on here.

I think I understand. But, not positive.

Your state/city doesn't require licensing,however,you are licensed?
That should be a good thing for you. Something to make you stand above the rest of the crowd. That's how I see it anyway.

Your state/city doesn't require licensing,however,you are licensed?
That should be a good thing for you. Something to make you stand above the rest of the crowd. That's how I see it anyway.

If I mis-understood,sorry,

Yes, I'm licensed and MD "requires" it. They have a laundry list of what they consider to be "home improvement" and I definitely do some of those things.

I had to take a test (mostly on business, state and federal employment law; nothing about driving nails, etc.) to get the license, and I need insurance and a bond.

Twenty minutes away in Virginia, for my kind of work (handyman) the license costs 1/4th that of MD and there is no test and no insurance and no bond.

I don't know that the average HO cares if I'm licensed so much as
"Am I ready, willing, and able to the do the work?"

Using my own decision theory stuff, if the license, etc., costs $X, and the fine is $4X, I should only get a license if the chance of me being eventually caught is at least 1/4th.
Personally, I'd put that likelihood at 5% or less.

And who is going to turn me in?
My customers have never turned in a complaint about me, over years. I should mention here that I have two degrees in engineering and my father was a carpenter.
Business rivals? They don't even know about me; I don't show up on their radar.

For jobs in my house that I have contracted for, like bathroom remodels or laying new flooring, maybe 1/3 were licensed. And these guys were charging us ~$200/hr for doing this stuff.

To paraphrase a quote from some Internet link: if I get a license I will be openly praised for being a good citizen and privately condemned for being a simpleton.

this is what our board is doing
i know they are short of investigators & not even making a dent in the unlicensed activity but at least they are doing something.
for years they didnt even have the power to write a citation.

Yes, I'm licensed and MD "requires" it. They have a laundry list of what they consider to be "home improvement" and I definitely do some of those things.

I had to take a test (mostly on business, state and federal employment law; nothing about driving nails, etc.) to get the license, and I need insurance and a bond.

Twenty minutes away in Virginia, for my kind of work (handyman) the license costs 1/4th that of MD and there is no test and no insurance and no bond.

I don't know that the average HO cares if I'm licensed so much as
"Am I ready, willing, and able to the do the work?"

Using my own decision theory stuff, if the license costs $X, and the fine is $4X, I should only get the license if the chance of me being eventually caught is at least 1/4th.
Personally, I'd put that likelihood at 5% or less.

And who is going to turn me in?
My customers have never turned in a complaint about me, over years.
Business rivals? They don't even know about me; I don't show up on their radar.

To paraphrase a quote from some Internet link: if I get a license I will be openly praised for being a good citizen and privately condemned for being a simpleton.

Ya can't go wrong with any certification you can obtain. (I think anyway)